Yesterday, the venerable raters at Textbroker upped my writer rating from 3 to 4. Frankly, I'm a little cranked not to be a 5, because I am a 5, but here's how this site works for me and why I really don't care about the 4 rating. If you're a writer with very limited freelance time, you might try this, too.
Textbroker.com has small freelance writing jobs that you pickup online, write and submit, all based on the sometimes sketchy instructions from clients you don't meet. They're rated 1-5, and you can write below your rating, but not above. Higher-rated assignments pay incrementally higher. I've found them to be a stand-up organization thus far.
Here's how I'm using Textbroker to make money, and why I'm not so worked up about my somewhat lame rating (given my skill set and background).
- I work 40-plus hours a week and have a crazy-busy family life, so I don't have much time to make extra bucks, and frankly, by the time I sit down to work, my brain is a wee bit thrashed. It's been a long day. But, I need a little extra cash. I do.
- I log in to Textbroker, scroll through the jobs and find one I can write with little or no research. Usually I can find one that pays between $1.50 and $2.50. Stay with me here.
- Then I slam the copy out. I mean, I write fast. Luckily, I can do that. I give myself 30 minutes, tops to write and proofread my copy. Sometimes I can do it in 15 minutes. Some assignments are 150 words or so.
- Then I submit the assignment and move to the next one.
You're thinking, "Girl, you can do better than $5 an hour, that's less than you'd make at Wendy's." Yes, I can make much more, but remember, my brain is fried because it's late evening, I'm in my sweats, and I may even be drinking a glass of wine. I'm working when and where I can. Now that $5 looks a little better, right?
So back to the initial point about my rating. I can slam out copy, self-proof, which any writer knows is tough to do well, submit the story and do it all in 30 minutes. That, my friends, is quick work. If I spent more time, more carefully crafted each sentence, etc., I'd be a 5. But then my hourly wage would be less. So for me, slightly-above-average rating works just fine.
What do you think? Am I selling out, or have I found a reasonably good gig?
(By the way, so far the clients submitting the jobs to Textbroker have rated my copy Excellent, and you know I love a happy client!)
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